1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus that images an image with a solid-state imaging device and an imaging method and imaging program therefor, and it particularly relates to an imaging apparatus, method and program that allow detection of unnecessary image contained in an imaged image.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, digital imaging apparatus such as digital still cameras and digital video cameras are widely spread. Most of recent various mobile machines such as cellular phones also include an imaging function.
Such imaging apparatus and mobile machines have been strongly demanded the decreases in size and/or thickness. For that reason, it may be important to decrease the size of each of function blocks for imaging and efficiently lay out the function blocks without losing the operability. For example, in some cellular phone including a camera module, the thickness of the shut cabinets is decreased by placing the camera module near a connecting part with a transmitter cabinet within a receiver cabinet and fitting the unit including the camera module into a recess of the transmitter cabinet when they are shut (refer to JP-A-2007-67744 (Paragraphs [0045] to [0052] and FIG. 6) (Patent Document 1), for example).
However, a user's finger may be placed on an imaging lens during imaging when strict constraints are imposed on the layout of the function blocks for imaging in order to meet the demands of decreases in size and/or thickness. For example, the constraints may place an imaging lens in the same direction as that of the position where a user may hold the imaging apparatus. Particularly in a cellular phone, a release button and an imaging lens might be placed closely. In this case, an image of a user's finger may be contained in the imaged image.
In order to prevent the problem, a camera system has been proposed that prestores pattern images containing unnecessary images and warns a photographer of the existence of an unnecessary image if it is determined that a pattern image is contained in the image imaged in an infrared mode (refer to JP-A-2005-191948 (Paragraphs [0033] to [0041] and FIG. 2) (Patent Document 2), for example).